Date:  Tue, 28 Nov 1995 14:59:09 -0500

From:  Ronald Butters <amspeech[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ACPUB.DUKE.EDU>

Subject: Re: Don Nelson puts behind



On Sat, 18 Nov 1995, Dennis R. Preston wrote:



> Can't buy it. Clause-mates ought to trigger reflexives.

>

> For example, in 'John moved the skunk away from himself,' the skunk is the

> target of the moving (not John), and 'him' would not be coreferential.

>

> I still find it odd and still think that the metaphoric sense is related to

> the variation.

>

> Compare

> John put the skunk behind himself

>

> with

>

> John put the argument behind him.

>

> I can't reverse the pronouns (and still keep the coreferential).

I'm still working my way throughl y e-mail after two weeks in Mexico

(Cuyernavaca). Maybe smoebody has ready said this about Nelson put it

behind (him), but I have a couple of obvservations.



(1). My intuition is NELSON PUT HIS TROUBLES BEHIND *HIMSELF is worse

than NELSON PUT HIS HANDS BEHIND ?HIMSELF--the differencd seems to have

soething to do with whether weare dealing with 'motion' (however

metaphorical) or 'location'. Compare THEY PUT (TIED) THEIR HANDS EHIND

THEM and THEY PUT (TIED) THEIR HANDS BEHIND THEMSELVES.



(2). RE: "This is called closure in sports, and Nelson seemed as ready as

anyone to put behind this sordid chapter in his otherwise sparkling

career." It seems to me that a kind of analogy is at work here; cf. " . .

. Nelson seemed as ready as anyone to put AWAY this sordid chapter in his

otherwise sparkling career." or ". . . put DOWN . . ."; or ". . . put UP

. . ."; etc.

   BEHIND is a very felxible word, even for English, changing parts of

speech at will. (I remember Don Nelson's behind very well, having been in

college with him/it and having perused him at a fairly close social

distance.)